ABOUT
AGENCIES:
Everything to do with filmmaking and television production
passes through an agency. Agencies broker deals between
actors and studios, directors and production companies,
production companies and studios—basically every
combination of creative entities you can imagine. An agency
is one-stop-shopping for someone who is looking to get
a feel for what’s available in the Hollywood job
pool. Most of the really interesting jobs ultimately come
from the agencies. Most creative people have agents, and
when they need an assistant, they often turn to their
agents to help them find the right person to fill the
job. ABOUT STUDIOS:
Studios are, for the most part, self-sufficient movie-
and television-making entities. Their capabilities run
the gamut from developing and producing their stories
and/or programming, to marketing and publicizing their
final product. The studios hire the creative people—the
actors, the directors, and the producers—and then
oversee the work that is generated by bringing these
people together. In essence, the studio is the boss.
Now, not to complicate things, but most people in Hollywood
think they are the boss. The writer who had the original
idea thinks he’s the boss of his idea, and the
director who directs the idea thinks that she’s
the boss of her take on the Idea, and the actor who
actualized the idea thinks he is the boss of his performance
of the Idea, but the bottom line is that the studio
is fronting the money for the writing and directing
and performing, so the studio is essentially the boss.
Money talks, and even with its famously questionable
accounting, Hollywood still abides by that law of business.
The rest of Hollywood functions in a more entrepreneurial
manner, either with four- or five-person production
companies that are headed up by actors, directors and
producers, or larger special effects companies and post-production
houses. As is true for most self-starters, these companies
offer greater responsibility and access to material
for newcomers, coupled with less stability and heightened
competition. Because the workload bulks up and diminishes
according to Hollywood production schedules, which are
at the mercy of everything from guild strikes to audience
attendance, the revolving doors at these companies are
in constant motion and employees often trade job stability
for greater hands-on experience.
Both routes—the studio/agency route and the production
company/post-production house route—have pluses
and minuses, depending on what kind of person you are.
(Again, this is where your list of qualities will come
in handy. Do you need more structure? Do you prefer
stability to responsibility? Do you care about ill-defined
hours? Do you like to be around a lot of people or a
few?) The beauty of being new to the business is that
you don’t have to close any doors just yet. That
decision will come later.
>
Continue
|
